This week in my Ethics course we are looking at two classic arguments about the penalty of death, both from U.S. Supreme Court cases: Justice Brennan, excerpt from Furman v. Georgia 408 U. S. 238 (1972), and Justice Stewart, excerpt from Gregg v. Georgia (1976). Here’s my chart outlining the criteria and arguments used by
Capital Punishment: Brennan versus Stewart Read More »
I am the centre of my universe, the centre of the universe, and in my supreme anguish I cry with Michelet, “Mon moi, ils m’arrachent mon moi!” What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? (Matt. xvi. 26). Egoism, you say? There is nothing more universal
De Unamuno’s egoism Read More »
I participated in a seminar on the Jones Act of 1920, with good presentations by Phil Magness, Woan Foong Wong, Ken Schoolland, Keli’i Akina, and others. The Jones Act requires that any cargo carried between two US ports be (a) carried only on US-built ships or barges that are (b) mostly manned by US citizens, and
The dead hand of the Jones Act of 1920 Read More »
[Here is a transcript of our eleven-minute video interview.] Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship Interview with Professor Al Gini on Leadership Hicks: I’m Stephen Hicks of CEE. Today we have with us Professor Al Gini from Loyola University Chicago, where he is chair of the management department and where he teaches business ethics. He is also
Al Gini on Leadership — our CEE interview Read More »
One explanation for National Socialism appeals to psychological explanations. Hitler, for example, was an art-school reject and, the argument runs, that trauma led to resentment, which is a major part of why he became a Nazi. I’m skeptical of that explanation (as I argued here) — mostly because there are thousands of art-school rejects who
Two art school rejects — Hitler and Rodin Read More »
On Tuesday, April 11, 2017, 2:30 – 3:45 pm, I’ll be speaking at APEE on Liberty and Equality in Political Economy: From Locke and Rousseau to the Present. Other participants in the session will be Peter Boettke, Nick Capaldi, Gordon Lloyd, and Alexei Marcoux.
Liberty and Equality in Political Economy — APEE panel session Read More »
I wrote this piece 15 years ago — my explanation of how two lines of development of modern art culminated in postmodernism. (Translations via here into German, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese). Now I feel the need to write a follow-up: Why Art is Still Ugly. Related: * Taking Modern Artists at Their Word. September 2014.
Why Is Art *Still* Ugly? Read More »
About the following list of the top ten oil companies in the world, ask two questions: How many are government-owned and how many privately owned? and Of the privately owned, how many are highly regulated and how many operate in free markets? 1 Saudi Aramco 478.00 (evenue in year 2015) 2 Sinopec 455.499 3 China
The Biggest Oil Companies in the World Read More »